A Second Chance
by Shadowfox83
Summary: Sasuke's words left Sakura wondering if she's been too hard on Naruto. So she decides to give him one more chance, will it pay off?[Oneshot NaruSaku]


**A Second Chance**

**A Naruto Fanfic**

**By: Shadowfox83**

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately for me I don't own Naruto, the others from Team 7, or anyone else from the series. So call off those Ninja Lawyers…is there even such a profession as that?

**Author's Notes:** Well this will be my first try at a Naruto fanfic, so here's hoping I do all right. Anyway the setting is a retelling of the ending moments of episode 3 of the Anime. Lastly it is a Naru/Saku fic.

"I…I make him _sick_…" the young pink-haired girl sat on the bench mumbling to herself as she thought of the words that had left the mouth of her "Sasuke-kun" and struck her heart like a million daggers, feeling as if each one went deeper and deeper into her heart.

The sheer thought of him telling her those words truly was sickening to the young girl, by the name of Sakura Haruno. 'Was he right? I'm I really as "sick" as he calms me to be, am I really that cold and uncaring…' "_Come on, Sakura, there's no way he meant you were that bad_." Inner Sakura tried to plea within the confines of Sakura's mind but was quickly realizing that Sakura was in no mood.

"Maybe Sasuke-kun is right…maybe I should be kinder to…Naruto…" Sakura titled her head upwards as she took note of the clear and cheerful sky above her, it seem to contrast her current mood. "_You're not helping sky_!" yelled out Inner Sakura in pure frustration…

Meanwhile Naruto Uzumaki was causally making his way back towards the bench he had last left Sakura, he only hoped she would still be there waiting for "him"(even if that him was really his copy of Sasuke).

The blonde continued on his walk even though his mood was still sour from the moment his stomach had turned on him just as he was going to sneak a kiss from Sakura. To make matters worse, not only had Sasuke fooled him from thinking he was tied up but just as youth had hoped to punch his black-haired rival's lights out his stomach gave out on his _again_.

'Argh! Damn it and I was so close…damn you stomach and damn you Mr. so-called "Badass" Sasuke!' yelled out Naruto within the walls of his mind. His temper was flaring yet seemed to reside as he caught sight of Sakura siting on the same bench, yet something felt off.

Sakura sighed to herself as she figured it would be best to find Naruto in hopes of at least trying to have a semi-decent conversation with the lunkhead of a ninja. Suddenly she felt the nearby presence of someone thus turning her vision away from the sky above and towards a young male heading her way.

For a moment she believed it was Sasuke returning, but those hopes were quickly shot down as she took notice that it wasn't the Uchida boy but Naruto instead. "Naruto? Well at least he saved me the trouble of finding him…okay here goes…" Sakura cut her words short as she smiled gently at the approaching male, and to add more "compassion" gave him a friendly wave.

"Eh? What the…?" wondered Naruto as he took very quick notice of Sakura's kind gestures, for a moment the blonde believed they might have been directed at someone else, like Ino or…Sasuke.

The latter made him grit his teeth for a spilt-second yet he showed no malice on face, Naruto was good at hiding his true emotions when the time called for it. After all he never wanted anyone's pity not now, not ever.

"Hey Naruto!" called out Sakura with a semi-forced smile and a short giggle. "Okay strange…but…" Naruto out of manners waved back at his pink-haired crush. He then paused for moment as he quickly thought of something.

'Wait a minute…what if that's…Sasuke, that jerk how dare he use my love for Sakura-chan against me! Add to that he's posing as her to catch me off guard…well it won't work.' Naruto flashed a confident smirk for a moment as he walked up to Sakura.

"Naruto…um we have to talk…" "Really? No wait hold on, I know what you're up to and it won't work." The blonde accidentally interrupted Sakura as he stood just a few feet from her.

"Huh? You know?" Sakura blinked in clear surprise, she didn't expect Naruto to be so quick to catch anything, much less what she was thinking about.

"Yeah I'm on to you…what you think I'm that stupid to fall for something so easy as that." Naruto took several steps forward thus causing Sakura to take an equal amount of steps backwards. "Naruto what are you talking about?"

"Listen I'm on to you, and I'm not going to play any games!" The force behind Naruto's words was starting to scare Sakura. Once again the pink-haired girl backed off as she could see the fire in his eyes.

'Something's not right here, Naruto is never like this…it's almost like something else is controlling his anger and adding more fuel to it…but what?' wondered Sakura as the blonde continued to make his way towards her, eventually pinning her to the side of a nearby tree.

"Now I've got you." Naruto caught Sakura by surprise as he grabbed a hold of her left shoulder. Sakura twitched slightly from the quick ounce of pain she felt from her shoulder.

"Naruto…" she mumbled but the blonde seemed focused on something else where. "Cancel it, get rid of it now." "What are you talking about?" questioned Sakura with a quick blink of her greenish eyes.

"You're not fooling me, I said cancel the Jutsu!" Sakura slightly gasped as Naruto placed his left hand upon her right shoulder and shook her slightly.

"What the heck are you talking about, Naruto, I'm not using any Jutsu at the moment!" Sakura yelled back at the blonde.

"No way, I know it's you Sasuke! I'm not an idiot…" 'Sasuke? He thinks I'm Sasuke? Why?'

Unknown to both youths, the Kyuubi spirit living within the Blonde was the reason his rage was being fueled more and more by the second.

"Don't lie to me Sasuke! And don't you ever use Sakura-chan as a form again!" Naruto yelled out fiercely, as he released his right arm pulled it back, balled up his fist, and lastly sent it sailing directly at Sakura's face.

"Naruto!" were the only words the boy heard before a powerful slap connected on the side of his face. His very visible rage seemed to come to a complete stop just as he blinked his bluish eyes.

"S…Sakura-chan?" questioned Naruto as he noticed his shaking fist mere inches away from his dear Sakura-chan's worried face. He gasped sharply as he fully realized what he was mere seconds away from doing.

The blonde boy stood in complete fright before he slowly fell to his knees, still shaking his arm. "N…Naruto?"

The boy in question lifted his vision as he noticed Sakura kneel before him, a look of confusion, actual worry, and surprise on her gentle face.

"Are you okay?" "Sakura…Sakura-chan…I…I." He mumbled to her incoherently as he tried to find the right words. "I'm so sorry!"

Naruto's next action caught the girl completely off-guard as he wrapped his arms around her. Sakura gasped mentally for a second but decided that it would be best to confer Naruto, after all she had never seen him so scared in all the time she had known him.

"Naruto, it's okay. It's going to be okay…I'm fine, see for yourself." Stated Sakura as Naruto lifted his vision to meet her in the eye.

"Sakura-chan…I'm glad you're okay." Naruto ended his words with a hug as he squeezed Sakura happily yet gently at the same time.

"Naruto…I should be the one asking you if you're alright." "I am now." Confessed the boy with a gentle smile on his face.

Slowly both youths lifted themselves from the ground as they release the embrace they were sharing for a brief moment.

Naruto stared silently at Sakura for a moment before he turned his attention away from the girl he so loved and stared at the ground for a moment. An awkward silence soon followed and it wasn't until Sakura herself decided to break it with a question.

"Naruto, what did you mean by using Sasuke-kun's name the way you did?" Sakura wasn't sure if it was wise to mention Sasuke but at this point she wanted some answers.

"Ah…heheh don't worry about it Sakura-chan, it was just a misunderstanding that's all…though I truly am sorry about nearly striking you…" A sudden look of sadness once again crossed his facial features as he sighed deeply.

'Poor Naruto…he's really broken up by what just happened, heck I don't blame him but still…' "_Does he really care that much about you? Poor guy's a wreck…do something_!" screamed Inner Sakura. "_You owe him that much at least, right_?" Sakura mentally nodded to her inner voice as she walked up to Naruto and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

The boy blinked out of surprise and a bit of confusion crossed his face as he stared back at the young girl. "It's okay just forget about it. I'm fine really, so how about we just walk back to class together." She smiled purely at him for the first time as she awaited his response.

"Uh…sure, I'd like that Sakura-chan." Commented Naruto with a smile of his own. The two then started on their way back when Sakura decided to speak up.

"Naruto why are you so obsess with beating Sasuke-kun? What will you gain from it?" Sakura tilted her head slightly to look him in the eyes.

Naruto stopped his walk for a moment as he closed his eyes briefly. This type of action made Sakura wonder if she had pushed the wrong button as far as Naruto's personal life went.

But to her surprise the blonde opened his eyes to reveal a confident look within those bluish orbs of his, as well as a playful smirk on his lips.

"That's easy, because beating Sasuke is going to take me one step closer to my ultimate goal, and that is eventually becoming the Hokage of this village!"

Naruto laughed confidently as he placed his hands on his hips and flashed Sakura a full smile.

"So that's your goal, but Naruto…Iruka-sensei said you were the worst in class…" Sakura sighed as she lowered her head slightly.

"Well…I know that, but I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep improving and one day when I do become Hokage I'll finally have the respect from everyone in the village. That's really what I want…"

Sakura lifted her vision back upwards as she heard Naruto's final words, words that sounded a bit sad.

"What do you mean by that, Naruto?" "Exactly what I said Sakura-chan, I want everyone in the village to respect me. To no longer see me as some sort of freak or outcast, and when I become Hokage they'll all see how great a ninja I've become and I'll have earn their respect." Stated Naruto with a confident look in his eyes.

'That's right, how could I forget about that…after all I was telling Sasuke-kun about it. Naruto never had a great childhood and even now many ignore him, just like I do…' Sakura mentally cringed at her last thought, she was starting to realize just how much that was hurting Naruto even if the blonde never showed it on his face.

"Believe it, Sakura-chan! I will become Hokage and nothing on this planet is going to stop me from doing so!" Sakura snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed Naruto give her a smile and thumbs up, she could clearly see the determination written all over his face.

"Well you sure are determined, Naruto." said Sakura with a playful laugh. "Well yeah…" Naruto then took a few steps in her direction and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Naruto?" "And maybe when I become Hokage…you'll become wife to the Hokage…" Naruto actually blushed as he finished speaking, but he also noticed the noticeable blush on Sakura's cheeks.

"Wife to the…Hokage…" mumbled Sakura as she blinked out of confusion. Naruto noticed her facial features and was sure she was going to realize what he was asking her and eventually pound him into the ground.

Yet Sakura blinked once before staring into his eyes with a playful smirk. "I'll think about it."

Naruto shook his head a bit as his jaw slightly dropped. "You will?" Just as Sakura nodded Naruto engulfed her into a powerful hug, causing the poor girl's eyes to nearly bulge out and her air to be cut a bit short. Yet even as he crushed her, she could feel his emotion, his undying love for her.

Sakura couldn't help but smile at the "lunkhead" of a ninja as she return his hug then playfully tapped him on his head. "Um, Naruto, can you let go of me…I think I'm starting to turn a little blue."

"Oh right, sorry about that." Naruto apologized with a mild sweat drop as he released Sakura from his embrace. "Thanks." She said as she tried to smooth out the wrinkles in her attire.

"Sakura-chan?" The girl turned her attention to the blonde boy as she blinked at him. "Yes, what is it?"

"Did you mean what you said? Or were you just playing around with me?" Naruto asked honestly. Sakura was quiet for a moment before she finally answered him.

"Of course I was, what I mean is that yes I was honest with you, Naruto. Someone has to keep you in line after all." Sakura teased as she smiled and stuck out her tongue at the blonde.

"_What about Sasuke-kun_?" questioned Inner Sakura with a head tilt. 'I don't know, on one hand I still care about Sasuke-kun…but Naruto is starting to make me wonder if I'm on the right path…plus if he does become Hokage well who wouldn't want to marry the most powerful individual in the village. Either way we'll just have to see how this plays out.' Thought Sakura with a smile as she wondered what her future hold, and which boy she would ultimately end up with.

"Sakura-chan, I want you to know something." Sakura nodded at him urging him to continue.

"I want you to know, that no matter what happens from this point on…I'll always be here to protect you, I promise." Stated Naruto with a serious look in his eyes and a gentle smile on his face.

To say Sakura was touched by his devotion to her would be an understatement. She truly couldn't believe how much this boy loved her and refused to give up on her.

Even if she was to turn away from him he had stated he would still be by her side. He wasn't anything like Sasuke and his kind and simple nature was burning away at Sakura's heart. So much so that the girl felt the need to run up to him and give him the hug of his life, to wrap her arms around him and never release him.

Yet she decided to stay in check of her emotions and tease the boy a bit, she would let him make the first move not vice versa, add to that Naruto was causing her to be conflicted with her "crush" on Sasuke. She needed time to think things through before jumping into the arms of one of the boys.

So with that said Sakura smiled at Naruto before she stuck her tongue out slightly at the blonde boy. "And who says I need protection…" Keeping up with her act of teasing the poor boy she broke into a sprint and began to make her way back to the academy.

Naruto stood dumbfounded at Sakura's actions, but was quick enough to catch that she was teasing him. 'So that's how she wants to play it, huh." A laugh escaped his lips as he smirked at the dashing form of Sakura. The blonde then took off into his own sprint…

Sakura was still a bit ahead of him and was still thinking about Naruto's words from earlier. 'Me wife to the Hokage? That's insane, I don't even know if he will become Hokage in the future. Yet the more I think of it, the more I like the sound of it. Damn it I'm so confused…Naruto or Sasuke?'

Sakura then remembered Sasuke's words. "_You make me sick_." 'I make him…sick…' thought Sakura as another set of words came to her mind"_I'll always be here for you, I promise_." 'You'll always…stay with me…' she thought to herself once more completely oblivious to the fact that Naruto was catching up to her.

'Uchida Sakura or…Uzumaki Sakura…?' "_Argh! This should be so simple, but thanks to Naruto it's not_!" yelled out Inner Sakura pulling at her own "hair". Sakura was just about to sigh to herself when she felt a strong pair of arms lift her off the ground.

She was just about to yelp out in fear when she noticed the orange sleeves of the jacket of her capture. It was none other than Naruto. Sakura realized she was so caught up in her thoughts she had forgotten about how she had ran away from him earlier.

Sakura then took note of how the blonde was carrying her. It was very similar if not exactly the same as someone being carried "Bridal Style". A deep crimson shade of crimson crossed her cheeks just as Naruto spoke up.

"Got ya!" he shouted with a pure laugh. "Oh you're going to get it, Naruto, as soon as you set me down." Stated Sakura with a glare, which simply caused the blonde boy to laugh out once more.

"I know, but I couldn't pass up the chance. Anyway we're almost there and what do you think Sasuke will think when I walk in with you in my arms." A tiny blush appeared on Naruto's cheeks as a childish grin crossed his face.

Sakura thought over his words and just how Sasuke would react. Sakura wanted to believe he would be jealous but something inside her was telling her otherwise. It was then that she figured that perhaps giving a second chance to Naruto wasn't so bad after all.

"Uzumaki Sakura…" she mumbled to herself absentmindedly. "Eh? You say something Sakura-chan?" questioned Naruto as he could have sworn she had mumbled his last name.

"Huh? Oh nothing…and as to your question, well…Sasuke-kun can think whatever he wants, N…Naruto-kun." Sakura smiled purely at the boy that held her in his arms and a look of surprise registered on his face. Because of this she couldn't help but giggle just slightly at his shocked expression.

Naruto blinked in order to regain his senses and even found himself laughing alongside Sakura's gentle giggle. He then smiled kindly at the girl in his arms. He wondered why Sakura finally decided to give him a chance but ultimately decided not to question her about it.

For he didn't want to ruin the mood both he and Sakura were currently sharing, something about it just felt right just felt perfect and the fact that he had his long time crush in his arms was just a feeling Naruto wasn't ready to let go of.

"I guess this is practice for the future, huh Sakura-chan." Stated Naruto with a smile. "Maybe…but that's only if you continue to play your cards right, Hokage-sama." Sakura allowed a laugh to escape her lips as she smiled at the blonde.

"Believe it, Uzumaki Sakura!" said Naruto with a full grin as both youths shared a playful laugh.

Both Naruto and Sakura weren't completely sure what their futures were but one thing was for certain, today was a day neither would soon forget for as long as they lived.

* * *

**A.N.** Well that's it for this one-shot, and like I said earlier this marks the first time I've written something related to Naruto so I hope Naruto and Sakura didn't sound too OOC, anyway I'd like to now how I did so please leave a review and tell me if you like it, love it, or hate it...though please don't flame the pairing choice. So with that thanks for reading. 


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